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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. court — of law
  3. stand — to bear
  4. ground — crushed
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. court — of a king
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. spell — letters
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. craft — a skill
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. scale — in music
  15. ground — the earth
  16. scale — size or range
  17. spell — magic
  18. spell — a short time
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. pound — a weight
  21. bat — the animal
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. craft — boats
  24. ground — a position

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com